Communications Motorsport Eva-Maria Veith Tel: +49 841 89-33922 E-mail: eva-maria.veith@.de www.audi-mediacenter.com

Flashback: Le Mans 2013 and the Audi win under unequal prerequisites

• Audi’s Le Mans wins in the rearview mirror: victory no. 12

Ingolstadt, May 22, 2015 – The new Audi R18 e-tron quattro competes in the in three weeks. The regulations stipulate that the must be even more economical. At the same time, it will achieve significantly better lap times. With this efficiency gain, Audi makes the next step in the development of hybrid technology. In 2012, Audi was the first manufacturer to win Le Mans with hybrid drive. And to this day, this technology of the brand with the four rings is unbeaten in the endurance classic.

Ingolstadt, June 3, 2015 – In two weeks from now, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro will be challenged to claim its fourth consecutive victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours, with Audi competing against three manufacturers. At the same time, this will be a battle of the concepts: diesel vs. gasoline engines, kinetic vs. thermal energy recuperation and electromechanical vs. electrostatic vs. electrochemical storage. This brings back memories of the race two years ago.

In June 2013, a battle between the hybrid concepts dominated the race from lights to flag for the first time. Events before the race already gave a taste of how tough the confrontation would be. The officials repeatedly changed the regulations – to Audi’s disadvantage. The changes made to engine power, fuel tank capacity and duration of the pit stops consistently produced new advantages for challenger .

“These decisions by the endurance racing commission came as a surprise to us,” says Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport. “The restrictions imposed on Audi’s TDI power-plant were tough. Factually, they led to the reversal of an experience everyday drivers are familiar with, as the range of our TDI race cars was suddenly lower than those of our opponents using gasoline engines.“ As a result, the spectators saw that Audi generally had to pit for refueling two laps earlier. Loïc Duval, Allan McNish and in their victorious Audi headed for the pits

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34 times across the entire racing distance. Pursuer Toyota required only 30 refueling stops.

Rain made for additional uncertainty, just like the total of eleven caution periods following incidents. But the Audi drivers kept a cool head even in heavy rain showers in the race’s final stage, drove fast and impeccably, and saw the checkered flag on clinching their twelfth Le Mans victory with a one-lap advantage over the best Toyota. Their team-mates , Marc Gené and in the number ‘3’ Audi ultimately bumped a second Toyota from third place and, as a result, secured a podium finish.

At night, the Audi drivers benefited from Matrix LED headlights that illuminate the corners particularly well. An electronic control unit switches the individual headlight LEDs on and off depending on the situation or dims them to keep from dazzling other drivers. Two weeks after the race, the brand announced that the A8* would be the first model to be equipped with Audi Matrix LED headlights – another example of technology transfer from racing.

– End –

* : Combined fuel consumption: 8.9-5.7 l/100 km, Combined CO2 emissions: 206-146 g/km

In 2014, the Audi Group delivered approximately 1,741,100 cars of the Audi brand to its customers. The company achieved revenue of €53.8 billion and an operating profit of €5.15 billion in 2014. Audi operates globally in more than 100 markets and has production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia), Aurangabad (India), Changchun and Foshan (China) as well as Jakarta (Indonesia). The brand with the Four Rings will start producing cars in Curitiba (Brazil) this year and in San José Chiapa (Mexico) in 2016. Wholly owned subsidiaries of AUDI AG include quattro GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). The company currently employs approximately 80,000 people worldwide, thereof around 58,000 in Germany. Total investment of about €24 billion is planned from 2015 to 2019 – primarily in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi is committed to its corporate responsibility and has anchored the principle of sustainability for its products and processes in its strategy. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility.

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